TIME VALUE

One of the key concepts in Finance is the concept of the Time Value of Money. It is the idea that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar in the future because you can invest the dollar today and gain interest, so that when a year comes around you have more than the dollar you started out with.

Having been educated in Finance, and having worked in the field for the last 3 years, I can confidently say that this concept is the cornerstone of the investment world that drives the economy. If you knew that one dollar today was the same as a dollar a year from now, then why take on the added risk of investing that dollar? Would you not rather hide it in a safe where at least you know it will always be safe, though still subject to gaining or losing value due to inflation? But because you know that if invested, your dollar can appreciate in value over time, you will take on the added risk of putting the money in the bank (Where the bank invests your money and pays you a rate of interest, but can always default on your savings), and/or take on the risk of accumulating investments, be they real estate, mutual funds e.t.c

This to me was “Finance 101”, if I could not grasp and expatiate upon this concept, there was no point going any further. For all I care about financial concepts, there is another concept that came to me last night that I want to share with you. It is sort of a “Doing good 101”, I call it the Time Value of Good Works, and it is this: A good deed done today is worth more than a good deed hoped to be done in the future.

I, like many others, find myself postponing various things that I need to do. Even with starting this Christian Perspective, I procrastinated for a long time. I told myself that I was not ready, mentally or spiritually. My friends, it can be overwhelming sometimes when God calls you to do something. When the idea first came to me to begin these articles and share them with you all, I tried to avoid it as best I could. I thought about doing it “sometime” in the future. Like Jonah who went into the belly of the whale, I tried to give God all of the excuses that I could muster. I worried about what men would think of me. I wondered where I could locate the temerity necessary to think that I can write about Christian things to people who for all intents and purposes are more upstanding than I am, know the bible better than I do. “Just whom do you think you are?” I asked myself. I am still not sure who I am, but i know that God knows who I am.

God knows who we are, he knows our strengths and weaknesses, and I am here to tell you that God can use you no matter how unprepared you feel you are. When it comes time to do good things, we tend to make excuses for ourselves if it is not convenient at the time. We tell ourselves that we will give later, we recount the other times we gave as if that has anything to do with the present. It could be apologizing to someone we have hurt that we put off till a later time, it could be going out of our way for someone in need, it could be getting rid of bad habits that make us come short of the glory of God….it could be any number of things. We tell ourselves that we will get to it in due to time…it is almost as if the devil tricks us into believing that the mere thought of doing something good in the future is as good as doing it.

So…If I think to myself that I will give my time and resources to the needy when it is more convenient, then I am just as good as the people doing it right now. If I tell myself that I will make time for God as soon as I am done with this chore, then that is just good enough. So our mentality becomes one of “It’s the thought that counts”. This is all well and good, the thought is appreciated by God I am sure….but when does the deed begin to count?

THE DEED

As Christians we need to stop thinking so much and start doing! Our lord Jesus Christ did not merely think that he will die upon the cross for our sins sometime, he went ahead and did it. He did not procrastinate the cross until he was 80yrs old and had little to live for; he did it at the appointed time. When there is a chance to do good we need to go ahead, seize the moment and do it, because of the Time Value of Good Works.

At the beginning of this piece I said that a good deed done today is better than a good deed hoped to be done in the future. This is because we cannot fully grasp the effects of something good that we do today. If you do a good deed today instead of waiting till sometime in the future, you do not know how many lives you will touch between now and that future date, and how many lives those lives will in turn touch. So that by the time the one who procrastinated finally does his good deed, the one whose deed was done at the moment of inspiration has already touched more lives that are still touching others.

Another way to think of it is this: As Christians we are taught to lead by example, and when we go out of our way for God, others marvel and God’s name is glorified. Why wait for the glorification of the name of your lord and savior? Our Lord Jesus told us that if we do not praise God, the very stones will rise up and do it for us. If by doing good NOW as opposed to later Gods name is all the more glorified, then let us do it to the glory of his name. Let us all vow, that the very stones our lord Jesus alluded to will never have to make up for our lack of praise to God, by our words and our deeds.

Now just as there is a risk associated with investing your money today in the hope of gaining interest over time, there is also a risk associated with many good things that we do. The risks the bible refers to when it says “Many are the afflictions of the righteous”. This is a risk that we should gladly take on for Jesus, who gave it all up on the cross. Needless to say, the interest rate on your good deed is higher than anything you can expect to receive at the bank or any financial institution you think of putting your money in. “Bank” on God.

To conclude is there something that you have been putting off? It could be something in your past, or something yet to come, an apology you have not given, a blessing you have withheld. It could be something God wants you to do, or it could be a charitable deed. It could be a bad habit that needs to stop, or a good habit that must begin. Whatever it is, get on your knees, pray to God and do now what needs to be done. Time waits for no man. “I was going to do it” is not a suitable answer for Jesus if he comes upon you amidst your procrastination. A good deed done today is worth more than a good deed hoped to be done in the future, because we are in this world to do God’s works, and time is of the essence. To God be the glory Amen.


(TESTIMONY: INSPIRATION)

Speaking of doing what needs to be done, I was inspired by a conversation I had today, and I am compelled to share it with you. But first I will give you a brief history. Late last year I got a phone call from my Aunty who works for JP Morgan Chase, it was regarding a young man who had just graduated college and was looking for employment (For reasons of privacy I will not reveal his name, but I will say that the English translation of his name means: It is in God’s hands). She told me that he is a friend of the family, and in order to emphasize how dear he was to her, she said “Chinwendu, onweghi ihe’m ga emere gi m’nagaghi emere ya” “Chinwendu, there is nothing that I will do for you that I will not do for him”. As she said these words, I began to understand just how dear he must be to her. Because my Aunty really did a lot for me when I was looking for a job, she went to great lengths to help me secure a place of employment. That I got a job without her help wasn’t as a result of her lack of effort, but I believe it was that God’s name alone may be glorified.

And so as she charged me with helping this young man out, I was really motivated to do exactly that. I had some phone conversations with him, looked at his resume, and even gave him some contacts that I had. The similarities between he and I were not lost on me. Like me, he graduated from Rutgers Business School with a degree in Finance. Our G.P.A’s were almost identical (Sorry I won’t reveal what it is!), and we both have lengthy Igbo names. These similarities made me all the more eager to help him. I remember he sent me an email thanking me, and saying just how he wished that God would bless me. That this young man had a deep awareness of God was very inspiring as well. But as the months went by we lost touch. For my part, I regret to say that I did not exhibit the eagerness that I had in the beginning. Though I’d given him advice on his resume, and given him some contacts, I never actively looked within my company the way I should have. For this I am ashamed…(As I am writing this I just got a phone call from my aunty, and we talked about this young man. And so I continue where I stopped). Though I am ashamed for not doing as much as I could have, I am not regretful because now I see that it was to the glory of God. Here is why:

This morning I was chatting with a lady from my old department and she mentioned that they are looking for a new hire. The position was actually my first position in the company, and so suddenly this young man’s name popped into my head. This would be the perfect position for him! And so I called my aunty and left her a message asking her to tell him to get in touch with me. After looking at some old files, I saw his resume and so I called his cell phone to run the job by him. “This is just perfect” I thought. I am highly regarded in my old department, so here I was thinking that a recommendation from me would go a long way.

He sounded excited to hear from me. I spoke to him quickly about the opportunity, asking if he wanted me to send his resume. What he told me stopped me dead in my tracks and gave me a good dose of the “God is all that matters” which we so often say, but very rarely exhibit. He started by telling me that he appreciated me calling him, and he was very thankful, but then went on to say that he would not be able to pursue this opportunity since he has decided that this September he will be going into the Ministry, because he now knows that is his calling. He said that he had tried different things, different jobs that by all rights he should have gotten, but all the while the lord was pointing him into doing his work. And so come September he will be heading to the Ministry to begin God’s work. He said that he was really grateful for the opportunity, but he did not want to disappoint anyone. This was his conviction.

I was moved by his words, and I wished him all the best while pleading with him to keep in touch. I was moved because I began to realize that here is a young man who has told the world to keep all of its affections; he is serving God. I was moved because I know how difficult it is for a young person to give their life completely to God. The book of Proverbs even says that blessed are those that come to the lord in their youth. It is very difficult because when you are young the world is open to you; there are many dreams, ambitions, desires, temptations that distract you from God.

It takes a special bit of inspiration to be able to make that stand for God at so young an age, and I am thankful to God that he found his calling. I am thankful to God that he seized the moment and did what God wants him to do.

My friends please join me in commending this young man to God. May God guide him and see him through. May he never lack for anything, but rather may he experience the joy and fulfillment that comes with living for God. And let us pray for ourselves. May we all learn from his example, knowing that when all has been said and done, when all has been pondered and contemplated, only one thing is relevant: GOD.

Christ for the world we sing!
The world to Christ we bring!
With loving zeal;
The poor, and them that mourn,
The faint and overborne,
Sin sick and sorrow-worn
Whom Christ doth heal

1st Verse by Samuel Walcott 1813-1886